title: Examining oral intake temperature in cardiac surgery patients.
abstract: The effect of restricting the temperature of cardiac surgery patients' oral intake to room temperature or warmer, over the first 3 postoperative days, on gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms was examined. In all, 57 patients were randomly assigned to receive the intervention or usual care. GI symptoms were measured daily over the first 5 postoperative days. Following hospital discharge, GI symptoms and return to function data were collected over 4 postoperative weeks. On Postoperative Day 1, 41% of patients reported having GI symptoms, and they were significantly associated with higher cross-clamp time. Symptoms dissipated over time. There were no differences between the study groups in GI symptoms or return to function. Nearly 70% of patients who withdrew from the study were randomized to the intervention group. Difficulty associated with adhering to the study protocol was their primary reason for withdrawing. Given these findings, a large-scale clinical trial may not be warranted.
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donahue
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dowey
authors.forename: Alec
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bayes
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cuff
authors.forename: Nichole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Korol
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus; D005260:Female; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011897:Random Allocation; D012907:Smoking; D055815:Young Adult